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Judge sets March trial date for AT&T merger fight

A federal judge set March 19 as the trial date for the Justice Department's lawsuit to block the AT&T-Time Warner merger.

AT&T had asked that the trial begin in February, while prosecutors with the Justice Department's antitrust division requested May.

"This is not a normal case — from many perspectives," Judge Richard Leon told the two legal teams Thursday.

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AT&T had been pushing for an expedited trial to beat the merger's April 22 deadline. If the deal doesn't close by then, AT&T will have to pay $500 million to Time Warner.

Leon urged the companies to consider pushing back the deadline.

"Getting an opinion on April 22 is not going to happen," he said.

AT&T said it was looking forward to making its case for the merger.

"We thank the Court for its deliberate and expeditious approach to this matter," David McAtee, AT&T's general counsel, said in a statement. "We understand and appreciate how busy the Court is, and we will promptly discuss the Court’s post-trial schedule with Time Warner.”

The proposed merger would join AT&T, a telecom giant, with Time Warner's entertainment businesses, including HBO, Warner Bros. and Turner Media.

Regulators, though, are suing to block the $85 billion deal, arguing that it would give AT&T too much power over the television and video market.

AT&T in a formal response said the deal is "pro-competitive" and "pro-consumer" and said the video market has already been altered by new players such as Netflix.

The deal has also attracted scrutiny over one of Turner Media's most prominent networks: CNN.